This invention relates in general to the transportation of solid waste material, and in particular to solid waste transportation vehicles. In transporting refuse from a collection station to a disposal area it is conventional to use refuse compaction trailers which are loaded by a stationary packer which hydraulically forces refuse into the body of the trailer. Collected refuse is usually brought to centrally located transfer stations which are equipped to receive the refuse and, through the utilization of stationary packers, to compress the refuse into large trailers to be hauled to refuse burning plants or landfill area.
Refuse deposited at the transfer station is dumped through the top opening of a stationary packer and compacted by a packer head into the body of a trailer. When the trailer is full, it is hauled to a disposal area. This type of trailer and stationary packer arrangement has the disadvantage of creating spillage of refuse outside of the body of the trailer as the tractor is moved away from the stationary packer. The packer head extends a short distance into the body to produce packing; however, the elasticity of the packed refuse forces the refuse rearwardly when the head is withdrawn, thus creating spillage through the rear opening as the trailer is separated from the packer.
In addition, in compaction trailers, it is desirable to reduce the loads acting on the rear wheels and to distribute more of the loads to the tractor wheels. State regulations usually limit the maximum weight carried by each axle; thus to the extent that weight can be shifted from the rear axles to the tractor axles, the total load carried by the vehicle can usually be increased.